The Lamp That Enlightens Narrow Minds tells the remarkable story of Khyentse Chökyi Wangchug (1909–1960), a realized Tibetan tulku (reincarnated lama or teacher) and reincarnation of the great nineteenth-century master Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. Author, Dzogchen Buddhist scholar, and internationally known teacher Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, Chökyi Wangchug’s maternal nephew and disciple, and himself a high-ranking tulku, describes in intimate detail the important events of Chökyi Wangchug’s life, his spiritual practices, and the challenges he faced at a time of vast change and political upheaval in Tibet. Maintaining his sense of equanimity and dedication to the Buddhist teachings while navigating the complexities of Tibetan religious hierarchy and the invasion of Tibet by Chinese forces, he was captured by the Chinese and died in prison in 1960. Upon his birth in 1970, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu’s son, Khyentse Yeshe, was recognized as the current reincarnation of Khyentse Chökyi Wangchug by H.H. Sakya Tridzin, the head of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism.

“This book is a fascinating study of one of the major lamas of twentieth-century Eastern Tibet—up to his death a few years before the Cultural Revolution and his eventual reincarnation in Italy. All told from the perspective of traditional hagiography, The Lamp That Enlightens Narrow Minds is filled with extraordinary details of the complex lives of Tibetan religious masters of this period.”

—Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies at Harvard University and author of Apparitions of the Self, In the Mirror of Memory, and Women of Tibet

North Atlantic Books and Shang Shung Publications, 2012.

232 Pages

Should be available at Amazon soon too. Don't have it yet, might get it when the Kindle edition is out.

Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.- Shabkar

Just finished reading it in one go as it isn't very long. Wow. Who knew that Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Wangchug was actually kind of a "big name" that got pretty much erased from Tibetan history due to political/sectarian machinations. There was even an attemptemted assasination at Dzongsar monastery and the same for Norbu Rinpoche years later. Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro saved their lives.

Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.- Shabkar

Oh yeah, I guess I should give the point of the book haha. Well I'm not very eloquent so I'll just say it's that we should go beyond sectarianism and that that's one sign of a real practitioner.

The Lamp That Enlightens Narrow Minds (Kindle Locations 1209-1214) Kindle Edition. wrote:Chökyi Lodrö has never desired the wealth, power, and fame that have been the source of contention between our two administrators. For my part, in the same way, I have always felt repulsion for this kind of thing. These samsaric dealings are in no way the deeds of the lama, emanation of Mañjuśrī. Thus you must recognize with certainty where these clashes and senseless disputes have their origin. The essence of the dharma is not discord. To know the meaning of strife, to be linked to the teaching, to maintain a pure vision in regard to the lama, and, despite all that, to enmesh oneself in a web of hostilities is a sign of ignorance. As the lotus born in mud is not sullied, how can Chökyi Lodrö and I, master and disciple, be touched by the vileness of antagonism?

JKCW to Norbu Rinpoche, when the latter expressed doubts about Chokyi Lodro.

Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.- Shabkar

Pero wrote:Oh yeah, I guess I should give the point of the book haha. Well I'm not very eloquent so I'll just say it's that we should go beyond sectarianism and that that's one sign of a real practitioner.

The Lamp That Enlightens Narrow Minds (Kindle Locations 1209-1214) Kindle Edition. wrote:Chökyi Lodrö has never desired the wealth, power, and fame that have been the source of contention between our two administrators. For my part, in the same way, I have always felt repulsion for this kind of thing. These samsaric dealings are in no way the deeds of the lama, emanation of Mañjuśrī. Thus you must recognize with certainty where these clashes and senseless disputes have their origin. The essence of the dharma is not discord. To know the meaning of strife, to be linked to the teaching, to maintain a pure vision in regard to the lama, and, despite all that, to enmesh oneself in a web of hostilities is a sign of ignorance. As the lotus born in mud is not sullied, how can Chökyi Lodrö and I, master and disciple, be touched by the vileness of antagonism?

JKCW to Norbu Rinpoche, when the latter expressed doubts about Chokyi Lodro.

Interesting, it is on its way to my mailbox right now.

/magnus

We are all here to help each other go through this, whatever it is.~Kurt Vonnegut

"To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided."- Longchenpa

"Even though you have recognized your essence, if you do not get accustomed to it,You will be carried away by the enemy of thoughts, like a small child in a battle field.So long as you are not free from the limitations of accepting and rejecting,That long will you not recognize the view of the innermost secret heart-essence."

It taught me experientially that the outer form is the manifestation of the inner essence.To put it another way, everything is a manifestation of its nature . . .Oh boy. Words.

Does a lamp post have Buddha Nature?

Does forum spam have a re-cycle bin ?

Leave the polluted water of conceptual thoughts in its natural clarity. Without affirming or denying appearances, leave them as they are. When there is neither acceptance nor rejection, mind is liberated into mahāmudra.

Pero wrote:Just finished reading it in one go as it isn't very long. Wow. Who knew that Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Wangchug was actually kind of a "big name" that got pretty much erased from Tibetan history due to political/sectarian machinations. There was even an attemptemted assasination at Dzongsar monastery and the same for Norbu Rinpoche years later. Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro saved their lives.

It is the dark side of the tulku business alright. But it is a interesting book in other ways to, we catch a glimpse of ChNNR before he became Italian .

/magnus

We are all here to help each other go through this, whatever it is.~Kurt Vonnegut

"To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided."- Longchenpa

"Even though you have recognized your essence, if you do not get accustomed to it,You will be carried away by the enemy of thoughts, like a small child in a battle field.So long as you are not free from the limitations of accepting and rejecting,That long will you not recognize the view of the innermost secret heart-essence."

pemachophel wrote:I very much enjoyed this book. It gave me a lot of insight into a controversy I had previously only dimly understood. It helped contextualize things my Root Gurus said 40 years ago.

Namthars are my favorite reading!

what did your Gurus say , if you don't mind sharing? =) i am just wondering if the controversy finally got clarified outside of Tibet, i mean if the nowadays teachers/Rinpoches are aware how the situation really was?

Disdaining the lower and unable to grasp the higher,talking of emptiness, such a person will neglect cause and effect,mouthing on about the view while in a state of self-deception.It would be better to concentrate on the gradual path.